Leptospiral antibodies in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in northwest Croatia

In 2000 sera from 59 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from northwest Croatia were tested for antibodies against 12 Leptospira interrogans serovars: grippotyphosa, sejroe, australis, pomona, canicola, icterohaemorrhagiae, tarassovi, saxkoebing, ballum, bataviae, poi and hardjo. Using the microscopic agglutination test in 34 (57.6%) of the 59 sera, leptospira antibodies were found for 11 serovars, mainly for the serovar australis, then (in decreasing order) for the serovars sejroe, icterohaemorrhagiae, grippotyphosa and saxkoebing. The results showed a strong correlation with previous results of seroepidemiology and isolation of leptospira from small mammals in northwest Croatia. The role of the red fox as a maintaining leptospira reservoir in the natural foci of leptospirosis is still a matter of question and should be further investigated.